By Thomas Garcia: Freedom New Mexico The New Mexico Gaming Control Board has revoked a gaming license for La Mesa Racetrack and Casino at Raton, GCB Deputy Executive Director Greg Saunders said on Tuesday. “What this means for Quay County is we have another opportunity,” said Warren Frost, executive director of the Quay County Gaming […]

The Eastern New Mexico Rural Water Authority met Wednesday at Melrose City Hall. • Project Manager Scott Verhines said he was happy the authority was included as part of the joint land use study being undertaken by Cannon Air Force Base and neighboring municipalities. He said the Ute Water pipeline project, as proposed, has three […]

CNJ staff The Clovis Housing Authority will receive $10,836 of nearly $200,000 in Housing and Urban Development dollars for rental assistance provided to families. Seven state agencies are part of nearly 600 nationwide to receive $150 million in funding through HUD’s Housing Choice Voucher Program because they had additional leasing or experienced other unforeseen circumstances […]

By Tibor Machan: Freedom New Mexico columnist The point deserves to be made over and over: majorities have no just authority to trump individual rights. That old dependable standby of the lynch mob is a perfect illustration of this. Just because the whole town wants to hang the suspect, it doesn’t follow that it would […]

CNJ staff photo: Kevin Wilson Gov. Bill Richardson signs House Bill 15 into law Saturday at the Clovis-Carver Public Library. The bill changes the Eastern New Mexico Rural Water Authority from a joint power agreement into a utility authority. Looking on is Rep. Anna Crook, R-Clovis, who introduced the bill. By Kevin Wilson: CNJ staff […]

CNJ staff Gov. Bill Richardson will be in Clovis on Saturday to sign legislation creating a water authority for the Ute Water Project. The ceremony is 11:30 a.m. at the north annex of the Clovis-Carver Public Library. The bill changes the Eastern New Mexico Rural Water Authority from a joint powers agreement to a utility […]

By Kevin Wilson: CNJ staff writer A bill to revamp the Eastern New Mexico Rural Water Authority got to Gov. Bill Richardson’s desk without springing any leaks. House Bill 15 passed the House and Senate on unanimous votes, and will move the authority from a joint powers agreement to a utility authority in June. Gov. […]

The Eastern New Mexico Rural Water Authority met Thursday in the Ingram Room of the Clovis-Carver Public Library: • David Boswell, purchasing agent for the city of Clovis — the fiscal agent for the authority — spoke about the future need for an RFP (request for proposal) on final engineering and design services for the […]

By Kevin Wilson: CNJ staff writer Contracted employees of the Eastern New Mexico Rural Water Authority updated the Clovis City Commission Thursday on its plans to move into utility authority status. Following a 15-minute regular meeting, Project Manager Scott Verhines and two others held the floor for about an hour. Creating a utility authority, Kevin […]

CNJ staff photo: Liliana Castillo The state Public Schools Facilities Authority halted all but one of seven planned school renovation projects in the Clovis school district, pending additional student data. The Marshall Middle School renovation will continue as planned. By Liliana Castillo: CNJ staff writer The New Mexico Public Schools Facilities Authority has put a […]

The Eastern New Mexico Rural Water Authority meets 3 p.m. Thursday at Melrose’s City Hall. • The meeting will be preceded by a 1 p.m. study session. The session will focus on alleviating concerns the City of Portales has about proposed legislation to move the group into a true authority status. Portales officials are concerned […]

By Kevin Wilson: CNJ staff writer Orlando Ortega remembers his early days on the Eastern New Mexico Rural Water Authority, when he felt entities in Quay County were holding back production of the Ute Water Project. Now, it’s years since those entities left, and the pipeline project has been approved by Congress and President Obama, […]

CNJ staff The Eastern New Mexico Rural Water Authority meets from 3 p.m. Wednesday at the Clovis-Carver Public Library Ingram Room. This is the first meeting for the authority since the Ute Water Project was authorized and funded by Congress. The authority will oversee the construction and maintenance of a pipeline to deliver water from […]

By Gabriel Monte: CNJ staff writer While Clovis mayor and eastern New Mexico Rural Water Authority Chairwoman Gayla Brumfield says an omnibus bill authorizing funding for the Ute Water Project will be passed, there’s nothing wrong with having a backup plan. Enter U.S. Rep. Ben Lujan, D-N.M. Thursday, Lujan introduced a string of bills including […]

CNJ staff Authorization of the Ute Water Project is expected to be on the Senate floor Thursday, according to a release from U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M. By a 68-24 vote Wednesday, the Senate approved cloture on Senate Bill 22. Cloture is a procedure to end debate and limit amendments on a measure, contrary to […]

By Kevin Wilson: Freedom New Mexico Some delays are inevitable for the Eastern New Mexico Rural Water Authority, such as in Washington, D.C. Some delays it would like to avoid, such as in Santa Fe. Authority members found out an omnibus bill that included authorization for the Ute Water Project will not be introduced in […]

By Kevin Wilson: CNJ Staff Writer MELROSE — The recent federal bailout delayed the flow of federal authorization for the Ute Water Project, but supporters are optimistic their chances haven’t dried up. Project Manager Scott Verhines said at Thursday’s meeting that an omnibus bill including the pipeline project and 155 other items is a top […]

By Kevin Wilson: CNJ Staff Writer Eastern New Mexico Rural Water Authority members revisited a change first considered in 2007 — moving to a true utility authority. Scott Verhines, Ute Water Project Manager, gave a potential timeline and goals sought for such a change at Wednesday’s authority meeting. The authority, tasked with the Ute Water […]